It is the bane of motorists across the Midlands, and now it has been voted Britain's most boring road.

When the M6 was opened by then Prime Minister Harold MacMillan in 1958, it was only seven miles long and known as the Preston by-pass.

The country's 'spine road' now stretches 230 miles from Rugby, in Warwickshire, to Carlisle, in Cumbria - and is bemoaned for its constant contraflows and daily delays.

More than 180,000 vehicles use the West Midlands stretch alone during peak hours, and in 2003 the M6 Toll Road was opened to help ease the congestion.

Yesterday it topped a poll of 3,000 motorists as Britain's most boring drive, conducted by insurance firm Cornhill Direct.

The second most tedious drive is along the A30, between Devon and Cornwall, as it is one of the only routes to the South-west, and becomes 284-mile bottleneck during the summer.

Third place was awarded to the M1, Britain's very first motorway which can carry up to 150,000 cars on a daily basis - that's 200 miles of congestion from start to finish.

Mark Bishop, a Cornhill Direct spokesman, said: "Boredom can lead to tiredness and it's worrying that 24 per cent of motorists in the survey said they had either fallen asleep at the wheel or needed to take a break due to feeling tired on a particularly boring journey."

TOP FIVE MOST BORING ROADS IN BRITAIN

1. M6 - Britain's longest and busiest motorway stretching over 230 miles between Rugby and Carlisle.